Louis, a witness, was inside when he saw the gunmen open fire and yell “Allah Akbar.”

“The men came in and started shooting. Everyone fell to the ground. It was hell. I took my mum, and we hid. Someone near us said they have gone, so we ran out. I was only thinking of escaping,” he told told France Info radio. “We’re out now. I think people are still inside. It’s a nightmare – a nightmare.”

Jeremy Cliffe, an Economist reporter on the scene, said some hostages have escaped, “describing pools of blood and attackers using pump-action shotgun against crowd inside.”

Police also said the gunmen have at least one AK-47.

CNN reported citing witnesses that there are between six to eight attackers.